Page turner



United States Patent ()fiice ddl ifildz Patented Mar. 23, 1965 3,174,242 PAGE TURNER Stanislaw D. Degorsld, 291d Gliver lload, and Vincent 'll. Berlin, 332 E. Parent, both of Royal (lab, Mich. Filed Nov. 2S, 1961, Ser. No. 155,284 3 Claims. (Gil. 4ll-ltl4l) This invention relates to a page turner for turning the pages of books, magazines and the like, and more particularly to a page turning device automatically operable to turn a single page upon the actuation of a switch mech anism which may be conveniently operated by foot.

it has long been a problem for musicians to turn the pages of a music book while in the act of playing a musical instrument because the majority of musical instruments require the use of both hands. Various techniques are used by musicians to turn the pages of music books without materially disturbing the continuity of the music. However, none of the techniques has proven entirely satisfactory and the page turning problem has not heretofore been adequately solved. In addition to musicians, others, particularly the physically handicapped, have a need for a device to automatically turn the pages of a book or a magazine. This problem has been solved by the present invention by the provision of a page turner which is efiicient in operation and relatively inexpensive.

It is an object of the invention to provide an electrically operated page turner which will turn the pages of a book one by one upon the actuation of a simple switching mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide a page turner having a unique mechanism for loading the pages which are to be turned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a support for a book or magazine which is adjustable to receive books or magazines of dil fercnt sizes.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a page turner in which a page which has already been automatically turned may be manually turned back if desired and whereupon on the next succeeding page turning operation two pages will be turned at the same time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a page turner which will not damage the pages of the book being acted upon.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide a page turner having a novel control for an electric motor which permits the utilization of an inexpensive motor and yet will exactly restrict the motor to turning only a page at a time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a page turning device which may be positioned in any desired angular relationship with the horizontal plane.

A further object of the invention is to provide a page turning mechanism which is relatively fool-proof in operation and which is inexpensive to manufacture and durable in use.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the page turner of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the page turner of FIGURE 1 showing a book mounted thereon and the beginning of a page turning operation;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 2 illustrating a further point in the page turning operation;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the page loading mechanism taken substantially along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 5 is a schematic view of the electrical control system utilized with the page turner of FlGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the drive system for the device taken substantially along the line 66 of FIG- URE 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the control structure utilized to limit operation oi the device to turning one page at a time.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring to FIGURE 1, it will be seen that the page turner lb includes a book support 12 upon which is mounted an adjustable book stop 14 and a fixed book stop 16. A U-shaped casing 18 is mounted on the support 12 and has mounted therein power means to drive a page loading structure 2t} and a page turning arm 22.

The book support 12 is a wire structure the various elements of which are welded or brazed together. The support 12. comprises side wire elements 24, 26 which re bent downwardly at their ends to form supporting legs 2%, The legs are joined together by elements 32 3d. The legs 2%, 3b serve to raise the book support from the supporting surface on which it is placed and to provide space for mounting the casing in beneath the level of the supported book. As will be noted, the leg .28 is shorter than the leg 3 thus supporting the hook at an angle to the reader to facilitate easy reading. it will, of cour e, be appreciated that the bool; support may be positioned at any desired angle with respect to the horizontal, from a substantially upright position to a substantially parallel position with respect to the supporting surface.

End elements 36, 38 are provided at the juncture of the legs 28, 3d and side elements 2d, A pair of parallel elements dd, 42 extend between the end elements 36, 38

y and a structural support element 44 extends between elements ill, 42; intermediate the ends thereof. The rearward ends of the elements dd, are raised upwardly a short distance from the level of side elements 24, 26 and have downwardly turned portions. 46, 48 which are secured to end elements 3 3-8. The elements 4%, 42 are raised slightly upwardly so that the two halves of a book may be angled downwardly and be supported on the side elements 24, 26. This slight downward angle is desirable because it permits the pages to lie relatively flat with respect to the plane of the support.

The fixed stop t6 comprises an angle member, one leg of which is secured to the elements as, 42 while the other leg 52 extends upwardly to abut against one end of a book. The stop it? serves to locate a book with respect to the page loading mechanism Eli and page turning arm The adjustable stop 1 comprises a plate 54- having upwardly extending stop members ss, 58, 6d. The plate $4 is mounted for sliding on elements as, 42 by means of clamping plates 62, 64 mounted on the underside thereof and having upturned end portions for frictional engagement with the elements 4d, 42. The plates 62, are secured to plate 54 by a screw 66 which is adjustable to permit varying the force necessary to slide the stop. A book clamping structure is provided on the adjustable stop to permit clamping or" the pages of a book against the I? o) plate The pages which are clamped those which are not to be turned during operation of the eviee. The

clamping structure comprises a pair of spring arms 68, which are secured at one end between the plate 54 and clamping plate he arms 33, 73 extend laterally and are formed with an angle so that they will tend to spring downwardly towards the plate The ends of the arms 63, 743 are bent to form generally rectangular clamping feet '72, '74 which extend through the openings between stops 56, 58, as to normally lie against the plate 54. Upwardly extending portions '76, 7'8, terminating in finger engageable elements 8%, 82 are provided to permit manual raising of the feet '72, "4 for the insertion of a portion of a book thereunder as best illustrated in FXGURE 3.

In mounting a book on the support 12, the book placed in open position on the support with center the book resting between elements 4 end of the book is abutted against the fixed stop 36. The adjustable stop 14 is then moved into engagement with the other end of the book. The clamp feet '72, '74 are then raised and clamped onto the pages of the book which are not to be turned.

Considering next the page loading mechanism 2%, it wi l be noted, in FIGURES 1 and 4, that the pag loader 1; provided as a helically coiled wire in the generrl shape of a spring. However, the page loader Ztl does not function as a spring and the coils of wire are preferably of lowspring tension to permit easy separation thereof and to prevent binding of the pages of a book. The coil 2t? is mounted on an upright rotatable shaft 84 by means of inserting the ends 85, 8'8 of the coil through openings in the shaft An inner shaft ma be provided within the shaft 84- having openings therethrough registering with the shaft 84- openings and the structure may subsequently be tightened by nut to clinch the coil ends in place.

An annular support element 9*?! is provided beneath the coil 26 and is held in place by a bushing and the coil end 88.

As shown in FEGURE 4, each page 95 of the book 93 which is to be turned is inserted between two the of the helical wound wire it with the page to be first turned resting on top of the coil. Upon rotation of the coil, each page will successively be fed to the top of the coil for turning. Leading of the coil is accomplished by first positioning the pages of the book which a not to be turned beneath the annular element 92. The pages to be turned are then laid one by one, on top of .he coil and the coil is rotated 360 counterclockwise for each page to thus feed the pages downwardly as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The page turning arm 22 comprises a wire ele. rent having one end portion lltlfz adiacent to the coil end and at the same horizontal level as the end 86. The end portion Hill is inserted into the opening in the s raft Extending from the end portion is a curved portion 162: which projects towards the side element 24 of the support. The portion 102 is inclined upwardly from the he tal to facilitate moving a page upwardly during the page turning operation. The portion 18?. terminates in an upwardly extending portion which forms a notch for engagis of ing the edge of a page. A straight portion extends from the portion into engagement with an opening in the shaft 84.

The method of turning a page shown in l lGURES 2 and 3. The shaft 84 is rotated by power means within the casing 18 to rotate both the coil and. arm 22 clockwise. The page 536 lying on top of the coil Ztl, being at the same level as the end portion lull of the arm, will pass over this portion of the arm as the arm swings towards the page as shown in FIGURE 2. As the arm continues to rotate, the page will be lift d by the curved portion rd?- until engaged by the portion At this po U. tinned rotation of the arm will move the other side of the boolc where will fall e.- posing a new set or" pages to the viev. Z2,

4 after turning a page, is stopped and is in position to turn another page. Preferably, the outer end of the arm is positioned over the page which has been turned to act as a stop to prevent the page being blown ba k to its original position. The coil 9 t), which is also rotated along with the arm 22, will feed a new page to the top thereof upon each complete rotation of the shaft M in position for the next turning operation.

As previously in tioncd, loading of th coil 2t) with pages to be turned 18 accomplished by placing each page, one a time, on top of the coil 2d and then rotating the coil in a direction to feed the pages downwardly the coil. Turning or" the coil is accomplished manually by grasping the arm and turning it causing rotation of the shaft coil The upwardly slanting portion 2 of the arm will first pass over the page and as the arm is turned, the portion will contact the upper at face of the page and hold the page in a position where the end portion of the coil will pass over the page thus causing the edge of the page to be positioned between the first and second turns of the coil. Subsequent rotation of the coil will thus cause the page to be fed downwardly to thus preparthe coil for loading of another p ge therein. The by page loading is continued until of the desired rages have been loaded into the coil.

it appreciated that the structure thus far described may be varied from that illustrated within the scope of the invention. For example, the arm may be provided as a member formed from a sheet of metal or other material rather than as a wire element. A cylinder having a helical groove formed therein may be substituted for the wire coil Similarly, the book /6 formed from sheet material rather than from wire as shown.

Referring now to the drive system for the shaft 84, it will be noted that the casing 18 is mounted for vertical adjustment on the support 12 as shown in FIGURE 6. A bracket 138 having inturned portions in engagement with spaced apart wire elements 43, 119 is adiustably secured to the casi back vail E12 by nut and bolt structures Ell s, lie. This adjustment of the coil 2-3 so that different book thicknesses n ay be inserted beneath the annular element Mounted within the casing 13 is an electric motor 113 which is connected t.rough a pulley system to a shaft H6. The shaft 12% is in turn drivingly connected to the arrangement permits vertietl engages a large pulley which is fixedly mounted on shaft 126. The shaft carries a set of small pulleys 11349, 3.32 which engage belts 134, 1136. The belts 134, in turn engage a set of pulleys 138, 1.4% which are fixedly mounted on the shaft it) to thus complete the drive from the motor 118 to the shaft 1%. As will be noted from the respective sizes of the pulleys, there is a considerable speed reduction from the output shaft of the motor 118 to the shaft This results in the shaft being driven at a relatively slow speed while the motor operate at a relatively high speed.

Referring to FEGURE 5, it will be seen that power is supplied to the motor through a single pole, double throw switch 1-42. The switch 142 is preferably a foot switch as shown in FIGURE 1 of the push-push type wherein each depression of the switch plunger 14% throws the contact arm 1.465 to alternate contacts 1 2-8, 15%. The switch pole is connected by lead 154 to one side of AC. power 156. The other side of power is connected ctly to one side or" the motor by lead One lead extends from the contact 148 to a post 16?. while contact 156 is connected to a second post by lead A s cond pair of posts 17 i is provided and extend tron these posts and are connected 0 term a single lead 31% which is connected A spring switch arm 1.73, extends 180 apart with respect to the cente the shaft 183 upon which the cam is fixedly mountco. The cam is also provided with a pair of diametrically opposed flats 190, 192 which are also spaced 180 apart.

With the cam in the position shown in FIGURE 5, the lobe 184 depresses the switch arm 158 to complete circuit through posts i622, With the switch arr r making contact with the contact 148 as shown in solid lines, a circuit is completed through the motor 118. However, if the cam lief, is rotated a distance of 90, the lobe 184 will pass by the arm 178 and the flat 190 will permit the arm to spring outwardly from post to break the above-mentioned circuit to the motor. When the cam is so rotated, however, the lobe 184 will force the second arm 188 into contact with the post lie l, thus permitting a second circuit to be made through the motor 5118 when the switch arm 1 58 is moved to the clotted line position to make contact with the contact 1550 Means are illustrated in FIGURE 7 for rotating the am 18 through an arc of 90 upon each complete 60 rotation of the shaft E28. As will be noted, the cam shaft 188 extends through the wall in which it is journaled. A pinwheel having four arms i923 spaced at 90 intervals is also fixedly mounted on shaft 188. The arms E98 are in the path of an arm which is secured to the shaft Upon each 0! revolution of the shaft 129 in the direction of arrow .Zilfi, the arm will contact one of the pinwheel arms and rotate the pinwheel and cam shaft 188 hrough an arc of 90. Thus the cam 182 will be rotated 90 upon each complete rotation of the shaft lild.

As previously explained when the cam rotates 90, whatever circuit was previously made through the motor 118 will be opened, thus cutting off power to the motor. The motor will thus stop after each single rotation of the shaft 17 0. It has been found that the pulley system between the motor and shaft operates as an effective brake to the motor to cause the motor to stop at substantially the end of each single rotation of the sh it will be appreciated, of course, that a single rot 1 of the shaft 120 will cause a single revolution of the coil 20 and arm 22 to thus turn one page of the book mounted on the book support 12. The next page is turned by depressing switch plunger ll l lto close the second circuit through the motor 18. This process is continued until all of the pages have been turned.

it will be noted in FEGURE 7 that the arm 2% comprises a channel member Zfinl which is secured to the shaft 120 by a band 2%. A second channel member 208 is hingedly mounted on member 20 by a pin The member can pivot forwardly towards the pinwhcel as viewed in FIGURE 7 but is stopped from pivoting in the reverse direction by the member Zild. When the shaft lit-ll is rotated in the reverse direction from arrow 2%, the member upon contacting one of the pinwheel arms l98 will pivot out of engagement therewith without moving the p-inwheel. This permits the shaft 1% to be turned during loading of the coil 20 without rotating the pinwheel Such rotation would close a circuit through the motor M8 and cause the motor to rotate the shaft 12% one revolution.

CPI

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A device for turning the pages of a book comprising a book support for receiving a book in open position, a rotatable wire helix for receiving between each pair of coils thereof the edge of a page of a book positioned on the book support, said helix being adjustably mounted on the book support for adjustment in directions substantially perpendicular to the plane of a book positioned thereon whereby the helix is positionable above the pages which are not to be turned, a rotatable arm having one end positioned at, and even with, the end surface of the helix which is remote from the book support, said arm being in the form of a wire loop having a relatively large diameter to form a support surface for the page of a book, said loop having an upwardly directed portion at its outermost terminus for lifting the edge of a page, and power means to rotate the helix and the arm to feed pages to said remote end surface of the helix for engagement and turning by said arm.

2. A device for turning the pages of a book comprising a book support for receiving a book in open position, a rotatable wire helix for receiving between each pair of turns thereof the edge of a page of a book positioned on the book support, said helix being mounted on the support adjacent to the pages to be turned, a rotatable arm in the form of a wire loop, said loop having a relatively large diameter to form a support surface for the page of a book, one end of said loop being positioned at, and even with, the end surface of the wire helix remote from the book support, said loop having an elongated curved portion extending away from the helix and inclined away from the plane of the book support, said curved portion terminating in an upwardly directed portion for lifting the edge of a page, and power means to rotate the helix and the arm to feed pages to said remote helix end surface for engagement and turning by said arm.

3. A device for turning the pages of a book comprising a book support for receiving a book in open position, a shaft, 21 wire helix mounted on said shaft for receiving between each pair of turns thereof the edge of a page of a book positioned on the book support, said helix being mounted on the support adjacent to the pages to be turned, a loop having one end secured to the shaft, said loop having a relatively large diameter to form a sup port surface for the page of a book, said end being positioned at, and even with, the end surface of the wire helix remote from the book support, said loop having an elongated curved portion extending away from the helix and inclined away from the plane of the book support, said curved portion terminating in an upwardly directed portion for lifting the edge of a page, and another portion of the loop extending from the upwardly directed portion back to the shaft into securement therewith, and power means to rotate the shaft to thereby rotate the helix and loop to feed pages to said remote helix end surface for engagement and turning by said loop.

References filed by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 938,085 10/09 Stragiotti et al. 84486 2,464,389 3/49 Grau 318470 2,479,920 8/49 Gambrill 318-470 2,755,580 7/56 Justice 40l04 2,870,392 1/59 Eek 318-470 2,885,806 5/59 Storm et al. 40l04 2,888,626 5/59 Macoy et a1 318-470 2,897,618 8/59 Russell 40-104 JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner. E. V. BENHAM, Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR TURNING THE PAGES OF A BOOK COMPRISING A BOOK SUPPORT FOR RECEIVING A BOOK IN OPEN POSITION, A ROTATABLE WIRE HELIX FOR RECEIVING BETWEEN EACH PAIR OF COILS THEREOF THE EDGE OF A PAGE OF A BOOK POSITIONED ON THE BOOK SUPPORT, SAID HELIX BEING ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ON THE BOOK SUPPORT FOR ADJUSTMENT IN DIRECTIONS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE PLANE OF A BOOK POSITIONED THEREON WHEREBY THE HELIX IS POSITIONABLE ABOVE THE PAGES WHICH ARE NOT TO BE TURNED, A ROTATABLE ARM HAVING ONE END POSITIONED AT, AND EVEN WITH, THE END SURFACE OF THE HELIX WHICH IS REMOTE FROM THE BOOK SUPPORT, SAID ARM BEING IN THE FORM OR A WIRE LOOP HAVING A RELATIVELY LARGE DIAMETER TO FORM A SUPPORT SURFACE FOR THE PAGE OF A BOOK, SAID LOOP HAVING AN UPWARDLY DIRECTED PORTION AT ITS OUTERMOST TERMINUS FOR LIFTING THE EDGE OF A PAGE, AND POWER MEANS TO ROTATE THE HELIX AND THE ARM TO FEED 